Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure.
But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe.
And then he sees the flying saucer.
Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders.
No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.
It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little…familiar?
At once gleefully embracing and brilliantly subverting science-fiction conventions as only Ernest Cline could, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming of age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before—one whose every page is infused with the pop-culture savvy that has helped make Ready Player One a phenomenon.
My Review:
Armada by Ernest Cline
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4 Platypire for Armada by Ernest Cline. This is NOT Ready Player One. I feel like I need to get that out of the way because I see it come up all the time. Yeah there are some similarities but Armada is still a different book. While Ready Player One welcomes all geeks I feel Armada is more for the niche geek. This book is for for the geeks who loves MMO games and Sci-Fi movies/books. There are tons of sci-fi pop culture references that will make any Trekkie giddy with delight. Now all that being said, Armada is a fun action packed read. Zach was a relatable character even with his anger issues. I enjoyed his sarcastic humor and his love of all things 80s. Even though I liked the book I felt the book could have had a faster pace. There were times where I was bored with the long descriptions of the game play. I actually enjoyed the dialogue more than the combat in this book. Overall this was a good book but it might not be for everybody. View all my reviews |
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